


The Little Book Theif

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Set in Storybrooke, Canon Divergent [25]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hood-Mills Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15370455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Hood-Mills Family Fluff, with a smidgen of angst. Roland steals a library book.





	The Little Book Theif

Regina nods to Belle as they step into the library; and Belle smiles in return, “Welcome back,” she tells them. 

Saturday is Library Day in the Locksley-Mills household—a fact that Roland was all too eager to remind them of when he bounded into their bedroom well before the sun came up, unable to contain his excitement about the renewal of the still-very-new family outing. And, if she’s being completely honest with herself—she’s fairly excited for Library Day, too. It’s feels good to get back to normal. While they’ve only been back for a day, they’ve already fallen back into comfortable patterns—and for that, she’s grateful. They all are.

She settles in a chair, watching contently as Henry skims though the Young Adult section, looking for the next—and last!—book in the Percy Jackson series, as Roland grabs onto Robin’s hand and drags him off into the children’s section in search of new bedtime-story material.  She smiles as she reaches into the carrier and gently the baby up against her chest, rubbing soft circles on her back as she settles her in her arms. Dropping a kiss on her cheek, she pulls the cap off of her head and runs her fingers over the strawberry-blonde fuzz atop the little girl’s head.

“I missed you,” she hums as she looks into the girl’s deep blue eyes—eyes that she swears look directly into her soul. “Do you know that?” Again she kisses her. “Did you miss me?” She laughs as the girl squeaks out a tiny cry as her reply, and once more she kisses her chubby, dimpled cheek before cuddling her close against her chest. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Looking up, she watches Henry—his fingers skimming the spines of the books as his eyes intently study the titles. There are two books tucked underneath his arm already as he pulls a third from the shelf, flipping it over to read the back of the dust jacket. Henry has always been an avid reader. She can easily remember the days when she’d take him to pick out books and they’d return home with a tote bag full; she can easily remember how he’d crawl into her lap with two or three, unsure of which he wanted to read and she could never make him choose. He rotated between a few books, always a few choosing new stories and always renewing the ones he loved—stories she’d quickly memorized and could easily recite as her eyes grew tired.

She remembers when he started school and started choosing longer stories and how he’d beg her for another chapter and she remembers his proud smile when he realized that he could recognize the words as she read them.  They’d started the Harry Potter series this way, and by the end of the series, they were reading some chapters separately and discussing them over lasagna at dinner and others they read together, curled up in warm pajamas before bed.

Her eyes shift to Robin and Roland in the children’s section. They’re sitting on the floor together, Roland in Robin’s lap as they read a story together. Roland is very particular about his books. While Henry would try nearly any story, Roland likes to find the right story. She remembers the year they spent together in the Enchanted Forest and how each night after dinner, he’d climb into a chair with her and she’d tell him a story, and after awhile, he’d climb into the chair with a request for one of his favorites. No one knew then that the story she told him were the ones she’d memorized with Henry; and she never actually admitted to anyone that she was glad to share them with another child, though, she supposes, it was more than obvious.

She grins and continues rubbing circles against the baby’s back as she hears Roland laugh out, as she peers down at the little girl whose fallen asleep against her chest; and she wonders what types of stories she’ll like to read at bedtime.

When the books are selected, Roland and Henry pile them on the counter as Robin fishes out the library card.

“Oh…” Belle murmurs, as she glances up at Robin. “You’ve quite the late fee.”

“Did I forget to return something?” Henry asks, peering over the counter, his eyes widening as he see the screen. 

“What’s the fee for?”  She hears Robin ask as she carefully sets the baby back in her carrier, gently lifting it as they join the boys at the counter. 

Belle’s eyes narrow at the screen, “Uhm… _Where the Wild Things Are_. It’s been out for…months.”

Regina watches as Robin crouches down in front of Roland, and the small boy’s eyes widen at the missing book’s title. “Roland,” he begins, his voice stern yet full of disbelief. “Did you keep a book from the library? You know we only borrow these and they have to be returned.” When his jaw begins to tremble, Regina sets the carrier down beside them, then kneels down beside Robin, gently stroking her fingers through Roland’s messy curls. “Please, answer the question, Roland.”

He offers a barely noticeable nod before tears begin to streak down his cheeks, “I did.”

“Did you just…forget to return it?”

Again his face crumbles and he shakes his head. “It was on purpose.”

“Roland, you know that’s stealing.”

“You can’t be too hard on him,” Regina whispers, waiting for Robin’s eyes to meet hers. “You can’t blame him, he is  _your_ son, after all.” 

“It’s the one Henry read to me,” Roland admits quietly, sniffling through his tears. “The first time I stayed the night.”

“We read that the day before …” Henry’s voice trails off, and Regina feels his eyes on her.

She glances quickly from Henry to Robin and from the corner of her eye, Regina sees Belle smile emphatically at Henry.  

Looking back at Roland she vaguely remembers that evening; and she also remembers the day she and Robin decided he and Roland would leave for New York with Marian. She remembers how they’d gone back to her house and explained what was going to happen to the boys; she remembers how Roland had cried, said he didn’t want to leave and how Henry had taken him upstairs to comfort him; and she remembers that the boys returned with an armful of books. It hadn’t occurred to her then that that copy of  _Where the Wild Things Are_  belonged to the library, and wasn’t from Henry’s childhood collection— _to remember you guys_ , he’d said tearfully as he stuffed the books into his satchel. 

“But why would you take it?”

Regina grimaces and her heart clenches. “He’s not going to remember that,” she whispers, as Roland’s eyes fall to the floor. Robin looks at her for a moment, his eyes stare into hers until he understands. She watches his eyes close shut and he runs his fingers over his tense brow, then pulls the teary boy up against him in a tight embrace. 

With a soft sigh, Regina stands, “How much do we owe?”

“Oh,” Belle says with another empathetic smile. “I…” She looks from Regina to Robin and Roland. “I’ll just…clear it out. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

Belle nods, smiling back at Regina, “That book obviously means an awful lot to him.”  
Regina nods, glancing between Robin and Roland, and Henry. “I think it does.”


End file.
